The denotation within the frame is a large copy of the Bible open halfway. It appears to be on top of pure white satin. A closed rose bud on a stem is lying down the spine on top of the bible. It has a long stem cut diagonal at the bottom and has thorns. There is also a pair of handcuffs lying across the pages of the bible, one on each page with the rose stem entwined with the chain of the handcuffs. The whole image is also covered in confetti.
This photograph may have been taken to show the aspects of marriage before and after. I would expect to see the image appear on the cover of some sort of romance novel or book. The picture portrays love, romance and lust but also has a much deeper meaning; so just by looking at the cover of the novel we can almost tell what the book is going to be about. This deeper meaning to the image would make it extremely effective for a romance novel.
The shot of the photo appears to be quite close up to show the details of the image. It isn’t taken directly above, but at an angle in front so that we are able to view the images much more clearly than whether it was taken straight above or directly in front.
There are many signifiers of meaning in the image. The white satin signifies purity, innocence and virginity where the bible could symbolise religion, belief, rules, marriage, death and way of life. The rose shows love, romance, lust, passion and the handcuffs signify restriction, crime, binding, authority and law. Finally, the confetti symbolises happiness, celebration and marriage.
We can obviously tell that the connotational meaning of the image is love and romance; the rose shows this. But the rose also has many thorns, which could signify the pressures and pain of love, and the diagonal cut at the bottom shows how you can pass through the pressures to reach happiness, just like water passes past the thorns to reach the flower. The bible brings marriage and rules into the meaning of the image as we associate a bible with religion, belief, rules and marriage. The white satin symbolises life before marriage as it signifies virginity, innocence and purity; all of these you have before marriage, but as soon as you marry, they soon disappear. The handcuffs are there to signify life after marriage as they show the restrictions and rules you obtain as soon as it happens. They are there to symbolise the rules of marriage and how to stay faithful to your partner. The confetti signifies the happiness and good times of marriage.
The way the image is arranged, we can tell a lot from it. The fact that the satin is underneath everything else in the photo shows that after marriage, we no longer obtain innocence, virginity and purity, the signifiers of the white satin. The bible is open halfway, showing that you have lived half of your life: youth, freedom and innocence. It symbolises how you are entering the next stage: the responsible and independent side of life. The rose is entwined with the chain of the handcuffs, symbolising the relation between restriction and romance. It signifies how when you marry, you are attached to love and have no escape form it. The confetti is sprinkled all over the image, showing that even though there are bad times, restrictions and rules, on top of all this there is still happiness to be found. The overall message of image tells us that love and marriage comes with many responsibilities and rules. We have to sacrifice our innocence and virginity to gain it. But the photo also tells us that marriage is a happy and joyous occasion to experience.
To anchor the image I would use a caption such as ‘ are you sure you’re ready?’ This tells us that the picture is trying to show us what marriage is about and what we have to give up or sacrifice in order to gain it. The caption is trying to make us think about matrimony and fully decide whether or not we are ready. I think it is quite an effective caption.